


I'm a missile that's guided to you

by TullyBlue



Series: Heaven's Gate AU [1]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon? Don't Know Her, First Kiss, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, mostly implied angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:33:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 18,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24686161
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TullyBlue/pseuds/TullyBlue
Summary: “So, you’re tellin’ me, not only are you interested inkissing Ishida Uryu,” which Ichigo made sound like a complicated phrase in an unfamiliar language, “but you tried to do – that – the other day.”“Yeah.”“And my dad said your head is just fine, which Ishida insisted had to happen before he would kiss you.”“That’s right.”
Relationships: Ishida Uryuu/Sado "Chad" Yasutora
Series: Heaven's Gate AU [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1794112
Comments: 14
Kudos: 28





	1. One look from you (and I'm on that faded love)

**Author's Note:**

> Recently started rewatching Bleach for the first time in like...a decade, and here we are. This doesn't have a specific spot in canon it lines up with, just sometime during S1. I loved writing for this pairing, so let me know what you think!

“Look at this shit,” Ichigo whined, tugging at the shirt he had just slipped over his head. On his sleeve, tucked into the hemming, a streak of black thread stood out against the green fabric. “What an eyesore.” 

An empty spool came soaring through the doorway and smacked him in the back of the head. Over Rukia’s snickering and Ichigo’s sputtering, Uryu yelled, “You’re lucky I fix anything of yours, Kurosaki, you ungrateful jerk!” 

“Yeah, yeah, thanks, Ishida,” he yelled back sarcastically. The redhead rolled his eyes, scoffed, and looked over to Chad. “You’re up, man. Good luck. He’s in a mood.” With a miffed glance at the door behind him, Ichigo left. Rukia followed. She was right on his heels, harping about something he had done wrong during the fight. He was glad she didn’t live near him. His walk home was usually pleasant. 

The couch in Uryu’s apartment looked uncomfortable. It had to be half a century old, with some strange embroidered pattern and elaborate wood trim. Spotless and only a few shades off white, Chad thought it belonged in an antique shop. The first time he sat down on this couch, he forgot all about the strange design. The cushions were sturdy but soft, the wood trim had rounded edges and was wide enough not to be uncomfortable. With its elaborate legs, Chad did not have to sink so low to sit down. It was his favorite couch. So, he did not mind sitting on it for another ten minutes before he stood to go check on Uryu. 

After arguing with Ichigo, unless interrupted or they reached a devastating conclusion, Uryu usually spent a few minutes muttering to himself and keeping his hands busy. He calmed down after a little while of that. Chad gave him some time after Ichigo’s thoughtless comment, and didn’t make a scene of his arrival. He stood in the doorway, a silent, hulking shadow, and watched his friend patching up his shirt. Uryu went through the process of testing thread after thread against the color of Chad's shirt. He did this quickly, grabbing a spool and resting it for the briefest second against the shirt, making a disgusted noise, and tossing it back into the endless depths of his sewing box. Spools of yellow, green, and pink already awaited an eye. 

“Uryu.” 

He did not flinch, like most people would have, when he glanced up and suddenly saw Chad taking up the entirety of the doorway. Uryu never flinched. Not from him, at least, which he appreciated. It was probably a sign that he was too stubborn for his own good. “Sado-kun,” he said, in that hushed manner of his that reminded him of autumn winds in Mexico. A blue, not quite right, lay against his shirt, Uryu’s fingers pinching it tightly. 

Without speaking, he crossed the room and leaned over to peer into the sewing box. His eyes roamed over the meticulously sorted needles, threads, the tiny pairs of scissors... Countless spools were sorted by color, blues and greens and purples and grays and so many more. He stared into the assortment of appropriate spools. After some consideration, Chad turned back to Uryu. 

His eyes had just settled on the shirt spread out in front of him, abrupt and guilty. He pushed his glasses up, only able to hide the look on his face for as long as the action lasted. Several moments of silence stretched between them. Uryu did not look at him. 

Chad waved his hand at the sewing box and asked, “May I?” 

Predictably, Uryu’s gaze tracked the movement of his hand and the question surprised him enough that he looked up. Chad squinted, peering at him as he waited for permission. “Of course.” His voice was that cold, hushed wind again, and he thought of rosaries and dahlia petals. 

He turned back to the box when Uryu broke eye contact again. Sometimes Chad wished that he could open his mouth and the right words would come out. That never seemed to work for him, and he gave up trying pretty quick. Instead, he studied Uryu’s collection of blues one more time before making his choice. He took his time. It was his way, and it usually worked. He selected a deep, dark blue. It was several shades off; the thread would stand out against the bright flower petals with anything more than a cursory glance. 

While he made his choice, Uryu had begun talking about why he did not have the exact shade of blue, or green, that he needed. He used that matter-of-fact, slightly rushed voice that indicated he both wanted to actually say something and also fill up the space the silence left in the room. “Between preparing for the end of the semester and fighting all the Hollows that keep showing up, I haven’t had as much free time lately. It’s caused me to be less than fastidious with my supplies. Any of my other shades of green would have stuck out just as much as the black thread, to anyone with a working pair of eyes,” he muttered, pushing up his glasses, and Chad did not smile at the irony of that, “but Kurosaki would have thrown a fit either way, I suppose. Black is my most abundant color!” 

Was he supposed to answer any of that? Chad looked between the thread and Uryu. “Use this one. You don’t have to try so hard.” He held out the spool of thread, watched as Uryu’s deep blue eyes tracked it rolling around in his palm and he started to work himself up over his last sentence. It was a familiar sight. Warmth bloomed in his chest at the other boy's annoyance and he added, “Your repairs always look great. Besides, it beats having to buy new clothes.” 

Releasing a breath Chad hadn’t realized he was holding, Uryu let himself deflate. His shoulders sagged a little and his expression softened as he reached for the thread. There was still a tinge of pink to his cheeks. Uryu’s fingertips brushed against his palm, soft and cool. His touch lingered for a moment, the spool held between them, and the flush flared up in Uryu’s cheeks again. Fingers twitching, he nearly snatched it away, eyes darting between the floor and Chad’s face, not stopping in between. Belatedly, he remembered that Uryu was uncomfortable when any of them were in a state of undress. Several times, the Quincy had entered a room one of them were changing in, only to turn right back out, his face red as a tomato. He had hardly noticed; it was common for him to go shirtless at his own apartment, or while waiting for one to be fixed. 

Though usually he didn’t intrude on Uryu’s sewing. Uryu would call out for him or bring him the shirt himself. Chad wondered if many people encroached on his space, and thought of how the wrong word could make put him on the edge, and decided that no, they didn’t. He still looked uncomfortable. Chad nodded, silent, and retreated out of the room and to the couch. He had the urge to fall, heavy-limbed and drained, against the cushions. There was always the chance he could break it, though. He might even be more upset about that than Uryu, were it to happen. He sat down slowly. Best to be careful with things. 

Chad leaned back, stretched his legs out, and let his head hang over the couch. The wooden trim dug into his neck awkwardly, but the embroidery was soft and cool against his skin. He splayed a hand across the empty seat next to him and thought of Uryu’s hands. They must be strong, he decided. Between the bows and the needles, they were constantly under some sort of stress. He thought of Uryu’s fingertips against his palm. He found himself thinking a lot lately about Uryu and his hands, almost always cold, which would fit easily within his own. Fingers flexing against the couch, he wondered if Uryu could use some warming up. 

He wanted to how it would feel to have Uryu’s hands on his skin for real, not under the panic of battle or an accidental touch, but because the other boy wanted nothing more than to feel it beneath his fingers. 

“Sado-kun.” 

It took a long moment for him to open his eyes, tempted as he was to simply enjoy the sound of Uryu saying his name with his current train of thought. He did, though, lifting his head to fix his eyes on Uryu, brown and tired and covetous. His bangs fell forward and shadowed his eyes. 

Uryu stood between his feet, holding out the product of his efforts. He pointedly didn’t look at Chad as he took the shirt and slipped it on, but he could feel Uryu’s stare as he began working on the buttons. Halfway up, he noticed one of them was new. A square, and a bit darker than the rest. He hadn’t even noticed the missing one. His hand lingered, tracing the button. When he finished putting the shirt on, he tugged at the breast to check Uryu’s handiwork. 

A flowing line of cobalt stretched across the length of an electric blue flower. Chad lifted his hand and traced that too. He had gotten the color right. Good. He pulled his legs in, braced his hands on the couch, and stood to his full height. 

He reached out and placed a hand on Uryu’s shoulder, thinking about not thinking about Uryu too much. Unflinching, he took the weight of Chad’s affection and stood perfectly still under his grip. “Good as new. Thanks, Uryu.” He brushed his thumb along Uryu’s collar once, twice, a conscious slip, and removed his hand. 

The flush was back in his face. His eyes were focused somewhere near Chad’s cheek, and he thought he could hear a hitch in Uryu's breath. When he reached up to adjust his glasses, again, his hand trembled the slightest bit. “It was no problem at all,” he said, hoarse. 

Chad blinked. He stared down at Uryu for much longer than was polite, but his friends were used to that. Sometimes it took a while for things to come to him. He processed things slower than most people, but he had an astounding amount of patience. Thoughtfully, he took a step forward. Uryu’s eyes widened, only for a second, and they darted to look up at Chad, but not until after they briefly settled on his lips. 

Chad smiled, slow and sweet. He wanted to reach out again. He wanted to sit back down. It was getting late, though, and he had some thinking to do. “I’ll see you at school tomorrow, Ishida-kun.” 

His walk home was pleasant. 

* * *

Karakura Town seemed a lot nicer at night, Chad thought, and so he didn’t mind very much the nights that he couldn’t get to sleep. He had always been a quiet person. Night was a quiet time. He waited until the sun had vanished completely and took long, winding walks through the streets. Sometimes, he ended up in the middle of some trouble, like he always seemed to, but other times he scared off some would-be criminals from their activities. There were nights with spirits and Hollows, too, more often than he liked. Other nights he went undisturbed, and he haunted the streets like a confused spirit who hasn’t passed. 

This was one of the Hollow nights. It was late, even for him. He had come straight home from school the day before, and enjoyed an evening doing nothing much at all. His homework had been finished sort of early, and dinner was always quick when he ate alone, so he spent a few hours plucking at his guitar contentedly. Chad even managed an early night, falling asleep with his face pressed into the book he had been reading, less than a hundred pages from where he had picked up. 

He had been half-conscious, barely thinking about removing his face from the pages it was stuck to and arranging his legs in a more comfortable position, when he felt that sharp sense of dread that came with a Hollow appearing. The book stuck to his face as he bolted upright, falling to the floor as Chad tossed the blanket from his legs and fumbled to find his shoes. He was out the door before he had brushed the sleep from his eyes. 

He sprinted along the silent sidewalks, the cold air filling his lungs and rushing past his skin, mind clearing from the fog of sleep with every step. A hint of sunrise teased at the edges of the skyline; he enjoyed the view as much as the run. The few hours of sleep he had gotten were enough. It was probably more than what he got on average, actually, which would be good for the fight he was running into. When it was the middle of the night like this, he never knew how long it would take any of the others to respond. Rukia’s alert system seemed a little buggy. She got angry whenever Ichigo brought it up, though, and knew how Chad kept his mouth shut. The two of them took out more Hollows than he and Orihime combined, at least. And all Rukia did was shout instructions. 

He figured Uryu would know exactly who had the highest count, and if it wasn’t him, he surely planned for it to be. He was pretty competitive. 

The Hollow was a few blocks away from the river, near a park, if he remembered right. His feet pounded a steady, inhuman rhythm down the streets. His breathing was loud when he ran, probably the loudest thing about him, outside of a fight. It helped if he focused on the sound of it. He thought less about what would happen when his feet stopped moving, that way. 

  
Chad was halfway there when he felt another spiritual pressure flare up, a very familiar defensive move around the corner from where he was. He took a quick turn down an alleyway towards the source. When he emerged from the alley, frightening a stray cat into scampering in the other direction, his long legs carried him just a bit faster, heart rate picking up as well. Ahead of him, Uryu was a streak of white in the early morning darkness. 

He caught up easily, slowing his pace to fall in sync with him. He tucked away the hint of a smile he’d had since he felt Uryu’s spiritual pressure come to life. His friend was the defensive type. Uryu could interpret his expression as taunting, or smug, or something else entirely. Chad didn’t want to offend him. Tone even, heart pounding, he said, “Hey.” 

“Good morning, Sado,” he said, his breathing faster than Chad’s, tone a bit brighter. “I didn’t expect you to be awake this time of the night.” 

His eyes slid over to the sliver of sunrise on the horizon. “Won’t be night much longer.” 

Uryu glanced at him, blue eyes steady and unreadable. After a moment, he huffed a laugh and turned his gaze away. The breeze swept his raven black hair back, exposing his face fully, and Chad deepened his breaths. His glasses caught the sunlight. The metal gleamed as he pushed them up the bridge of his nose, amusement still glinting in his eyes. 

His legs must have been smarter than his heart, because they didn’t falter when it did. When he felt like it was safe, after far too long a pause for someone who wasn’t used to his silence, he spoke again. “Let’s hope this is an easy fight.” They were close, and he had yet to feel either Ichigo or Rukia’s appearance nearby. Orihime could still be sound asleep. The Hollow wasn’t making a lot of noise, but that could change soon enough. Allowing his footfalls to match up with Uryu’s, he tried and failed to focus on the rhythm rather than his anxieties over the upcoming fight. He had learned there was safety in numbers; sprinting in with half a team worried him even more than the usual battle. Chad found himself comfortable enough, in an unfamiliar and pleasant way, to voice these worries to Uryu. 

“It will be,” and the conviction in his voice reminded Chad of _why_ he felt comfortable talking to Uryu. For all that people found Chad to be a solid, steady presence, he knew he did not have half of Uryu’s conviction and drive. It was astounding. He didn’t know anyone else who wanted like Uryu did. His feet did falter that time, falling a few steps behind his friend. He watched as Uryu turned a corner, right into a halo of streetlight and straining sunshine, accented even further by the electric blue of calling on his Quincy powers. His heart felt like it could burst. Chad covered his mistake by taking the opportunity to bring his own powers to the surface. 

He pumped his arms, one strong, even for a human, and one inhuman, in burst of speed to catch up. There was no hiding his smile this time. It burst to life along with a rumbling laugh, louder and longer than Uryu’s had been earlier. The city was still quiet. His laugh drew Uryu’s eye. Chad smiled wider, if only by a little, when he saw his companion smiling back. 

Behind them, Chad could feel the enormous strength of Ichigo’s spiritual pressure flaring up. Ahead of them, a monstrous howl pierced the air. Uryu’s smile turned into something sharper, more competitive, and he bolted ahead of Chad. It was nothing he couldn’t cover in a few strides of his much longer legs, but he let him lead the way. He never liked to hurry things along. 

* * *

Chad watched as the last of the stars they were able to see in Karakura disappeared. His back was wet from the grass, and he sort of had a headache, but the view was pretty nice. The sky was just turning from indigo into lighter blues and purples. There was a steady stream over clouds floating overhead, keeping the brightest parts of the sunrise covered. 

“Hey.” 

The sky was blocked by a shadow, and when he focused well enough, he could see that it was Uryu standing over him. He stared up at the Quincy. It felt like his lips were trying to smile. He wasn’t sure if they actually were or not, though. “Uryu. Hey. Good shot.” 

“You shouldn’t rush the enemy head on when I suggest that you distract it,” he chastised, a frown definitely tugging at his lips. Chad was pretty sure he was smiling now, and maybe staring at Uryu’s lips. His glasses had slid down his nose again, Chad noticed, and his eyes were stern through the lenses as he looked down at him. He stood rigidly, but that was nothing new. Uryu was always stiff. It wasn’t hard to pick out what he was feeling by the different jut of his jaw or shoulders, but Chad was too busy looking at his mouth to decode the rest. 

He wondered if he had been staring for too long. Uryu hadn’t reacted any further, though, so it must have been okay. His head throbbed and he closed his eyes. 

“You said it would be a quick fight. Figured I would stick to the plan.” 

Uryu huffed loudly, and not like his laugh from earlier. It was the impatient, _I can’t believe you just said that_ huff he reserved for his friends. His anger towards strangers was both sharper and quieter. Chad laughed, though it quickly turned into a groan when the action caused a sharp pain in his head. 

“You idiot,” Ishida murmured, but suddenly there was a hand under his head and Uryu was kneeling at his side. Chad let his head roll in whatever direction Uryu’s hands moved it. He heard a sharp intake of breath when one pulled away, and he could feel the difference in the wetness where Uryu’s fingers had grazed and where his hair was wet from the dew on the grass. Blood, then. He wondered if it was bad. 

“It doesn’t hurt.” 

“That doesn’t mean anything, Sado,” Uyru scolded, which made him realize he had spoken aloud. His hand carefully drifted back to the injury. “You should have been more careful. I assume you hit your head when you were thrown into the brick wall over there, and it only got worse when you were thrown aside again.” 

“Oh.” 

“You might be big, Sado-kun, but the Hollows are much bigger.” Somehow, Uryu was always prepared for everything he encountered. He pulled bandages from some hidden pocket inside his jacket, and tugged him half onto his lap in order to dress his wound. Chad had been too stunned to be much help moving. He made sure to keep his head lifted enough for Uryu to easily wrap the bandages around it. “Getting knocked around by one of them is no joke.” 

“Good thing you’ve got my back, then.” 

“I can’t have your back if it’s broken, fool.” 

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, Uryu, but I can take a hit.” 

He finished wrapping Chad’s head and let it rest in his lap, one hand pressed against the wound to stem to blood flow. His other hand brushed the hair from Chad’s face, softly, in a way that made his chest constrict. Uryu’s hands were gentle. “You should learn that taking a hit and endangering yourself are two different things. I swear you must be spending too much time with Kurosaki; his recklessness is obviously rubbing off on you.” 

“Maybe so.” 

Uryu only scoffed, and Chad opened his eyes just in time to see him finish rolling his. Chad was smiling again, as soft as the other boy’s touch had been moments before. He vaguely heard their friends arrive. If he’d been in better shape, he would have felt them long before they got there. His head still hurt. His back was sore, now that the adrenaline of battle was wearing off. The fight had been short, sure, but he must have hit that wall pretty hard. He didn’t even react that much to Ichigo hollering his name. Pounding footsteps were coming his way, but he only mourned the loss of Uryu’s hand from where it had lingered, fingertips ghosting along his temple and cheek. It was just the stiff fabric of his glove, but it was more than anything he had received from Uryu before. Chad rolled his head over a little, ignoring the annoyed hiss from his friend, and looked up at him. 

“Thanks.” 

“Don’t make a habit of it,” he said, looking away. 

Then Ichigo and Rukia were skidding to a stop beside him, and he could hear Orihime a few steps behind, and everything was loud again. They were surrounded. Ichigo demanded to know what happened, how Chad was hurt, what happened to the Hollow, and Orihime gasped loudly when she saw that he was injured. He was glad to have such good friends. He felt bad for making them worry. Realizing that he was hadn’t stopped staring at Uryu, he closed his eyes. 

In a voice both quiet and threatening, Uryu barked, “Pipe down!” He waited for their friends to do just that before speaking again. “The Hollow picked Sado up, slammed him into that brick wall a few times, and then tossed him over here. It’s possible that he has a concussion. There was some bleeding, but I’ve taken care of that. I think we should get him to your family’s clinic, to be safe,” he added, looking towards Ichigo. 

“Of course. We’ll get you there no problem, Chad. You’re gonna be alright.” 

“How are we going to carry him?” Rukia muttered. 

He immediately tried to sit up, before anyone could attempt to pick him up off the ground or support too much of his weight. He only raised a few inches forward before he was frozen in place by Uryu’s hand pressing against his chest. The Hollow had torn his shirt, which happened too often with his button-up florals, really, but he didn’t even mind tonight. His medallion was fine and Uryu was touching him. He desperately wished that he hadn’t been wearing his glove, that they weren’t surrounded by their closest friends, that this had happened under any under circumstance so he could blame his racing heart on something else. 

Uyru pressed him back down firmly, hand not moving away once Chad had laid down obediently. His fingers flexed against the heart beating in his chest, digging in, as if contemplating taking it away from him. “Do not attempt to get up right now,” he said, voice low and hard. Something flashed in his eyes, and his fingers flattened against Chad’s chest. 

“Sorry.” He said it softly, and was glad for the quiet of their friends around them. They were still hovering over him, a hand that felt small and soothing like Orihime’s rested on one of his arms. He was far more focused on the other person touching him. There was a stickiness that he recognized as blood where Uryu’s gloved hand was pressed against his skin. 

His eyes flicked down to Uryu’s hand. Beneath it, his heart was still beating too fast for someone who had been laying down as long as he had. There was blood smeared on his chest and coating Uryu’s glove. Before he could stop himself, or even consciously decide to, he reached out and covered his hand. His hand was much bigger than Uryu’s, engulfing it completely. Chad flipped his hand palm up, not allowing himself to think too much about how it felt to hold his hand for that brief moment, and stared at the bloodstained glove. The palm was completely red. The fingers were stained, too, with patches of white still shining through in some places. 

“And sorry about your glove.” 

Uryu knocked his hand aside and sneered, his blue eyes rolled up in annoyance, but they stared at the sky for a second too long, as if pleading instead asking for reprieve. “Gloves are replaceable.” 

He didn’t look at Chad again. Instead, he immediately started snapping orders at the three hovering around them, efficient as always. While they were scrambling to follow orders – Rukia dialing ahead to the Kurosaki Clinic, Ichigo going to retrieve his physical body, and Orihime scouting for something he hadn’t caught – Uryu commanded Chad stay awake but complacent. He shifted, crossing his legs to support Chad’s head better, and removed his glove. After taking a second to check the bandages and decide they were secure, Uryu finally relaxed. One of his hands rested on his thigh. It was very close to Chad’s face, and he wished that he would reach out and touch him again. 

Sighing, Uryu used his free hand to push his glasses up. He looked down, hand hovering between his face and his lap, and his glasses slid right back down his nose. Chad wondered if he had thought about having them fixed. 

His eyes darted around and then landed back on Chad with that familiar, burning resolve of his. “Stay down,” he said, suddenly, and louder than necessary when Chad had neither moved, nor started to lose his hearing. His hand came down. He wasn’t wearing his glove anymore. Chad remembered that his shirt was torn. Uryu’s bare hand came to rest right above his heart, pressing against his skin with intent. He couldn’t have stopped the breath from leaving his lungs if he’d had a warning. 

Uryu kept him in place with his touch as much as his stare. Chad got the feeling that he was saying a lot without saying anything at all. He understood the sentiment; he’d never been good with words himself, but that also applied to deciphering what anyone else meant, when they weren’t being straightforward. And, yeah, a few times when they were being straightforward. He knew that Uryu was trying to say something important. He knew what he wanted Ury to be saying. He knew that Uryu could feel his heart pounding, and was beginning to wonder if the noise was interfering with Rukia’s phone call, but Uryu was brushing his thumb along the skin of his chest, drawing up flakes of blood in its wake. 

“I said,” Uryu began, and he struggled to focus on his voice when everything else was happening, too, “ _gloves_ are replaceable.” His voice was much quieter. It didn’t hurt his head like before. It felt more like his hand, soft and insistent. He was drowning in the softness of Uryu’s touch, his voice, his eyes, and couldn’t get the message. There was that annoyed, scrunched-eyebrow look Uryu got when someone wasn’t listening to him. Somehow, his expression wasn’t angry. 

Chad wanted to reach out and smooth the crease between his brows, and push his glasses up for him. He didn’t have the liberty to touch Uryu as he wished, especially if he was concussed like they had said, and so he did not. Instead, he turned his face to the side, towards Uryu’s hand. He knew he needed to say something, but what? Even if he had a hundred pairs of gloves, and he very well could, Chad would still feel guilty for ruining a single pair. He tried to think of something to convey that without irritating his friend further. 

Before he could speak, Uryu’s fingers brushed along his cheek. His eyes fell shut and he lay as still as possible. Uryu laughed, quiet and breathless. His palm pressed against the side of Chad’s face, matching the one against his chest, and Chad thought that maybe he had been hit a lot harder than he thought. Maybe he was dreaming. Maybe he was dead. He opened his eyes, thought that he still hurt a lot if this was some kind of good afterlife. 

Uryu leaned forward, his bangs falling forward to curtain his face as it hung, upside down, above Chad’s. He wondered if Uryu wore his hair like that for just this purpose – to close out the rest of the world, when he didn’t want to see it. His blue eyes peered down at him seriously, eyebrows still set too close together. “You are not, Sado-kun.” 

He straightened up, and moved his hand from Chad’s face. His mind was quiet, a stunned and uncertain silence, though his heart thudded hopefully in his chest. Uryu made to move the other hand from Chad’s skin. He reached out and covered Uryu’s hand before it could retreat. Tentatively, he curled his large hand around Uryu’s smaller one. It took more courage than charging headfirst at a Hollow, but he threaded their fingers together and then met the disbelieving stare above him. He liked the sight of their hands, together, different as they were, and it gave him a little of the fearlessness he sometimes felt in battle. 

Uryu looked down at him, eyes wide and cheeks flushed. He could practically hear the several trains of thought he must have working overtime. His lips parted like he wanted to say something. Chad did not want to talk, knew that he couldn’t communicate what he wanted to say with words as well as he could with actions. But he had been bold enough today, asking for as much as he was. Uryu’s fingers cautiously curled around his own. He was staring at Chad with a lot of emotions, and none of them seemed that bad. It was enough for him to hold Uryu’s hand and look up at him. It was enough for him to hear Uryu say that he was not replaceable. 

He tried to speak some of his feelings into existence, attempt to explain or express himself. Nothing he thought to say sounded right. “I can be more careful,” he managed. 

Uryu released a long breath through his nose and then squeezed Chad’s hand. “See that you do.” 

His head hurt, and he wanted to sleep, but he knew that Uryu wouldn’t allow that. So, he looked up towards the sky again. The stars were all gone. Pink and orange and yellow dominated the sky, a canvas of colors above them. Uryu pried his hand away, gently, and placed Chad’s on his chest. He wondered if Uryu would fix his shirt, if he asked. It was an orange that matched one of the shades in the sky. He’d always liked it. Maybe he would remember to ask, later. Their friends had wandered back. 

“You get yourself into all kinds of trouble, buddy,” Ichigo said loudly as he approached. “Can’t be so reckless.” 

“I’ve been told.” 

* * *

Dr. Kurosaki said that he definitely had a concussion, and cleaned up all the scrapes on his shoulder as well as stitched up the back of his head. His shirt was tossed to the side, but Ichigo’s sister, the nice one, put it in a bag and brought him a new shirt, and some sweat pants, too. She was gone before he could thank her, her father crowding in his face to continue treating him. He announced he would have to cut some of Chad’s hair away in order to stitch him up. Uryu had looked on with a lethal glare. Chad could see his fingers twitching from across the room, and wondered why he didn’t offer to do the cutting, or the stitching, whichever he was twitchy about. He was good with his hands. 

He did speak up when Ichigo’s dad said that he needed to stay awake for a while longer, and should be monitored. Ichigo and Orihime both volunteered immediately. They each offered to let Chad stay the night, speaking over the other, earnest and automatic. He had the words to brush them off at the tip of his tongue. His plan was to hang around the clinic until things calmed down and his friends started to disperse, then he would walk home. Uryu piped up, insisting that he would be taking Chad home in order to keep an eye on him, and forced him to swallow those words. 

“It was my fault that Sado was injured, and I will be taking responsibility for his recovery. What do I need to watch out for, Doctor Kurosaki?” 

As usual, his tone left no room for arguments. Orihime knew better than to try. She smiled brightly at him while Ichigo began loudly proclaiming it made perfect sense for Chad to stay there. His angry sister reminded him that they didn’t have the spare room, let alone anywhere comfortable for someone his size to sleep. Mr. Kurosaki scolded both of his children, and Chad turned away from Orihime’s kind face to look at Uryu. He was shaking his head and sighing at the Kurosaki family, gesturing silently and dramatically to Rukia, who nodded in solidarity. 

The debate was settled when Chad realized that someone would have to intervene. He knew that if it were left up to the two dark haired teenagers standing beside the examination table, they would wait until the girl had beaten her father and brother to a pulp before stepping in. 

Reaching for the new shirt, some soft, plain red thing that looked a size too small, he grunted, “Hey.” Somehow, it was enough to stop the argument. Uryu was looking back at him now; Chad was thankful for the dark fringe of his bangs. “That’s alright, Ichigo. I’ll go with Uryu. Thanks for fixing me up, Dr. Kurosaki.” 

“Are you kiddin’ me? You’re gonna go with this uptight jerk?” 

That broke the eye contact he held with Uryu, and Chad was okay with that because it was starting to make his head spin, when he turned to scowl at their hot-headed friend. “I have nothing against Sado, thank you very much.” It was very much implied that he did, in fact, have something against Ichigo. 

“What the hell is that supposed to-” 

“Boys! Shut your mouths and let me do my job, will ya?” Ichigo’s dad scowled at them, and neither of them quelled under the look. They did fall silent. He huffed in acceptance and proceeded to outline the possible complications or symptoms Chad might have during the night. 

Chad sat silently through the doctor’s speech, not really paying attention, sure that if Uryu was there to keep an eye out on him, he was bound to notice something wrong far before Chad would. Ichigo’s sister, the angry one, looked at him strangely when Uryu began to collect his shirt and the rest of their things. She only stared at them, quiet like her brooding brother. He knew she was the most perceptive one of their family, and her stare made his shoulders tense involuntarily. Chad nodded to her and stood when Uryu indicated he should. The other twin sister fluttered anxiously around them, a clear tendency to mother radiating off of her. 

Apparently, Ichigo’s dad had offered or agreed to drive them, likely due to Chad’s injury. He should have paid attention to what they were saying earlier. He followed the instructions to change and get ready, then trailed after the doctor and Uryu to the car. The radio played quietly. Uryu directed the man while sitting in the back seat with Chad. A few times, he thought he saw the other boy looking his way when a light shined through the dim car. It made him warm, and nervous. The idea of staying the night at his place caused him to feel hot all over. He had been to Uryu’s apartment only a handful of times, mostly to swing by and grab him for something life-threatening or after they had survived the ordeal. It was nicer than his apartment, which didn’t bother or appeal to him; it was just a fact. His place looked a lot more lived in than Uryu’s, too, since he preferred to keep things tidy and stark. 

They arrived before he had too much time to worry about it. Uryu climbed out of the car, reminded Chad to duck his head before he followed, and thanked Mr. Kurosaki for the ride. He parroted the words and closed the door. Silently, Uryu led the way up to his apartment, like they did this every day. He was glad he wasn’t feeling dizzy anymore. It was a strange turn of events. 

The third floor was quiet. He exited the stairwell first, since Uryu insisted on walking behind him in case he suddenly fell or passed out. There was no way he could allow himself to crush Uryu on some staircase in the early hours of the morning, with no one around to possibly help them. He only passed by Chad when they entered the hallway. As he unlocked the door to his apartment, Chad remembered that he could pick locks, and wondered how he acquired that particular skill. It seemed out of place on the honorable Quincy in front of him. 

Uryu opened the door and Chad found himself settling into Uryu’s home as if it were his own. It was a novel experience. He had strict orders to rest, and Uryu demanded that he sit down on the couch right away. His head still hurt, so reading something off one of the expansive bookshelves was out, but he thought about asking Uryu if he could put on some music when he spotted a radio tucked between some thick tomes. Though the longer he relaxed into the couch, the less he wanted to move. In contrast, Uryu bustled around the small space, seemingly unbothered by the company. He picked up a stray book laying on the table, returned it to a shelf according to some system Chad wasn’t privy to, moved a mug from the counter to the sink, put the kettle on, and checked the locks on the door. Chad watched idly, drinking in the sight of Uryu, who looked both at ease and strained. 

When he finally stopped moving, he stood over Chad, hesitant and tense, and cleared his throat. “Would you like some tea?” 

“Sure.” 

Uryu made tea. It was a blend Chad could identify as soon as he took the lid off the container. The fragrant tea was a gift from Orihime to her friends, which was nice expect that it was decaffeinated and smelled like a bouquet. He wondered if this was the kind of tea that Uryu preferred. Chad didn’t like it too much, but he wasn’t one to complain. The cup Uryu handed him had been sweetened with honey and didn’t taste too bad, but the honey surprised him. His host didn’t seem the type to like sweet things. 

He sat down on the large couch with his own cup, an appropriate distance from Chad, but not on the opposite side. One of his legs was thrown over the other, ankle resting on his knee. His dark eyes were drawn to the pale strip of skin exposed between his sock and the hem of his pants. He forced himself to look away before too long. Uryu would surely cover it, if he noticed it had ridden up. Chad thought of the way he smoothed the wrinkles from his shirts and plucked stray hairs from his sleeves. Defensive and tidy. 

His stare did not go unnoticed; Uryu had glanced his way after he forced his eyes up. He had something he wanted to say, it looked like, but he did not open his mouth. He turned his gaze away from Chad and drank his tea slowly. Chad thought of his hands, solid and cool against his skin, and his words, still sunk into his chest. Maybe he did not know Uryu as well as he would like to, or as well as he liked to think. He sipped his own tea, thinking hard. 

“This is good.” 

As if he hadn’t heard him, Uryu looked up and raised his eyebrows. “Hmm?” 

“The tea,” he clarified. “It’s good.” 

“Oh. Despite the dubious nature of her meals, Orihime is excellent at blending tea. The floral ones pair well with a bit of a sweetener. She brought me the honey when she noticed I was sneezing; around the time the seasons were changing. She’s friends with a local bee farmer at the market, and said his honey helped with things like that.” His eyes floated down to the tea in his hands and Uryu smiled, the corners of his lips barely turning up. “She’s very thoughtful, isn’t she?” 

He made a noise of agreement. Thoughtful didn’t cover it. She was the closest thing to a saint that Chad had ever met, with maybe one exception. Orihime was sweet, like the honey, like the tea, like Uryu liked, apparently. His skin felt too hot. 

“Do you like sweets?” He was starting to get used to speaking before his mind was aware of it. While his mouth may be running away from him today, it hadn’t failed him yet. At least he had stopped grinning like a fool a while ago. 

“You want to know if I like sweets?” Uryu looked confused, but his lips were curled up a little further at the edges. 

“The honey.” 

“Oh. In moderation, I like sweet things.” 

That answer shouldn’t have settled his stomach, but it did. His skin felt too warm, still. “How did you learn to pick locks?” 

He was looking at Chad with those arched brows, like he was studying a something unusual or listening to music he didn’t get. Chad drank deeply from his cup and waited for an answer. Finally, Uryu said, “My father, when he discovered that I was practicing my Quincy powers against his wishes, would lock my equipment away in a cabinet in his office. In order to get it back, I would have to pick the lock on the door to the office, and then the one on the cabinet.” 

“That’s pretty sneaky.” 

The smirk on his face was evident in his tone when he answered, “I was very determined to follow in my grandfather’s footsteps.” 

He chuckled, nodding. “You’re a very determined person, Uryu.” Chad went to drink from his cup and found it empty. He sat the it on the table. “I like that. You always seem to know what you want.” 

“Usually, the path I should take is very clear. I don’t like to be forbade to do anything.” 

“Mh-hmm. Control issues,” he said wisely. 

Uryu sputtered, the smirk slipping from his face as he looked at Chad in disbelief. He thumped his mug on the table and turned to face his laughing friend, both feet planted on the floor. “Contr- I do not have control issues, Yasutora.” 

Chad let his head fall back against the couch, too tall for it to be supported, so he ended up looking at the ceiling. Laughter rumbled through his chest at Uryu’s defensiveness. It took a minute to subside, and Uryu only got twitchier and more impatient the longer he had to wait. “ _Yasutora_. You used my first name to scold me when I surprised you with an observation you didn’t like.” 

To his surprise, Uryu was quiet for a long moment. Chad grew nervous, and lifted his head to inspect the damage. Uryu was not fuming at the other end of the couch. He sat in the same spot, eyes focused on the empty space between them. One of his hands rested there, half a cushion away. For a wild moment, Chad thought about reaching for it. 

“You’re right. I apologize.” He sighed heavily and pushed up his glasses with the confession. Uryu met his eyes, and the blue seemed darker inside his house, where neither the sun nor anyone else could see them. Did the thread on his shirt do that, too? “Sado-kun.” 

His mouth was dry, suddenly, but his cup of tea was empty and of no use to him now. He thought of getting up for a glass of water. There was a weight in the air though, like Uryu had just unleashed all of his spiritual pressure. He could barely lift his hand. It rose a few inches off his lap, and like he was pushing against a current, he reached out to Uryu. 

The other boy moved closer, unhindered by the pressure, and looked intently at Chad. The blue of his eyes and the water-weight of the air had to be connected, somehow. His headache had subsided, but he still couldn’t figure it out. Chad did not have to move his hand as far, with Uryu so close, and so he reached further than he would have before. He tucked the raven bangs away from Uryu’s face, curling them behind the shell of his ear like he did it every day. It was the first time he had touched Uryu’s hair, or his face, and he tried to be as gentle as possible, especially when he heard the other boy's breath hitch. He knew all too well how easily he could hurt someone. 

His hand molded along Uryu's cheek, and for the first time in a long time, he was tempted to take what we wanted – waiting patiently be damned. It wasn’t his way, not anymore. That didn’t stop him from drinking in the sight of barely parted lips and dark eyes. Under that stare, his nerves felt like they were on fire. This close to Uryu, Chad could burn with poise. 

He brushed his thumb along Uryu’s cheek. He had always liked when Uryu blushed; the change in color was visible a mile off, and usually made Chad grin. This time, he was the reason the other boy’s cheeks were red, and he wanted to know more about that. He focused on moving slow, which was hard because his heart felt like it couldn’t beat while Uryu was looking at him, and he kind of felt like he couldn’t breathe, either. Chad tried to take a deep breath. Uryu’s face changed, quickly, like someone slamming a door shut, all the color draining from his cheeks, and he made to lean away. Chad did not stop him. He let his hand linger in the air for a second. No matter how much he mourned the loss of touch, could feel the hope thrumming along every inch of his skin fade away, he would not push Uryu for anything. He respected him, as a friend and a teammate. He was grateful to him for being kind enough to watch out for him. He could pretend forget about everything that almost happened here. 

When Chad’s hand dropped to his lap, where the other one was clenched into the fabric of his jeans, Uryu let out a noise he had never heard him make. It was both frustrated and distressed. His cheeks turned an even deeper red than before when he realized what he had done, and Uryu rushed to speak before Chad could, not that he was in danger of being beaten. 

“I’m sorry, Sado, but I simply couldn’t forgive myself for taking advantage of you. You’ve been concussed, and head wounds can be-” 

Chad stopped listening, and this time he couldn’t bring himself to care that he was missing some sort of information about his injury, because Uryu had just implied that he would like Chad’s consent for something. That something may very well be kissing, if Chad was reading this situation right – and really, with a concussion, he should be more doubtful. But few of his friends were any good at lying, and Uryu was probably the worst of them all. He had too much honor to play around with someone’s emotions, not to mention too few social skills to do something like that for fun. 

He took a second and assessed himself. The headache he’d been suffering from had subsided. He felt more lightheaded considering the idea that Uryu found him irreplaceable than at his actual injury. His thoughts were clear enough. They might be solely focused on one thing, but that meant he could pay attention. So, he had a one-track mind. Not exactly new. He may be concussed, but he was still himself. 

“-completely unfair to you and despicable of me-” 

“Uryu. Stop talking.” 

“- such a thing as... Excuse me?” 

Chad chuckled, cupping his hand along Uryu’s cheek again and drawing his face closer. He complied, as if Chad’s touch had shorted his brain. His lips were still formed around the last thing he had been saying; his eyes were wide and they seemed more black than blue at the moment. This close, he could see them more clearly through Uryu’s glasses, could study the way his eyelashes curled upwards and fluttered against his cheeks when he blinked too fast. It would be nothing to spend the next few hours memorizing every detail of Uryu’s face. He was only a few cavernous inches away. But he had other, _better_ , ideas. 

When he spoke, they were close enough that their honey-sweet breath mingled together. “I want this.” The words were simple. They were authentic. He ran his thumb along his cheekbone, pale and sharp like the rest of him, before moving his hand down to cup his jaw. He thought of running his thumb over Uryu’s lips, but did not want to scare him away. He could be wrong. He could be destroying everything, right now. “Do you know what you want?” 

A pale hand came to rest over his own, pulling it away and threading their fingers together in a mock of earlier. The heat in his veins had just started to turn to ice when Uryu smiled at him. It wasn’t the satisfied smirk he usually wore, or the reluctantly amused one he allowed himself among friends. This was soft and unguarded, two things Uryu hated to seem, and Chad turned his hand over to capture Uryu’s properly, holding him as close as he was allowed. 

"Two days,” he said, insistently. “Dr. Kurosaki said you should be fine in two days, exempting any further injuries to your thick head. If you still...” He swallowed hard and looked like he was searching for words, which was something Chad did much more than Uryu. “If you still feel this way, we can revisit the subject.” 

Part of Chad considered the irony of running head first into a brick wall every time he spoke with Uryu when he wasn’t supposed to be hitting his head again any time soon; the rest of him calmly excepted that this was a condition Uryu set forth, and he obviously felt it was important. He knew that Uryu was bossy, and liked things in a way he didn’t care to explain to most people but still expected them to follow. It didn’t bother Chad very often. His request came from a place of caring. And maybe insecurity, too, but Chad understood both of those things pretty well. 

After all, he had not spoken up for months, even though he considered it. There was always a different reason. One of their friends interrupted their conversation before he got the nerve; he wasn’t sure what Uryu thought of him, not really; confessing on the way to or from a Hollow battle seemed wrong; Uryu was smart and ambitious, and surely had his entire life planned out; he spent most of his time talking to Orihime or staring (well, glaring) at Ichigo. Chad came up with a hundred reasons to stay quiet. All of them felt equally true, at the time – and some, even now. 

Slowly, he took both of Uryu’s hands in his own. He stared into his deep blue eyes, waiting for some of the tension to drain from him, his thumbs brushing delicately over the skin of his knuckles. Uryu took a shaky breath. Chad kept his breathing even, his temperance returned now that he knew where they stood. “Alright,” he said. 

Uryu’s hands tightened in his own and it felt like he was squeezing Chad’s heart, too. He opened his mouth, said, “Now that that’s settled, what would you like for dinner? I’m an adequate cook, if I do say so myself-” 

“Uryu.” He leaned forward, eyebrows drawn down in concentration. Chad’s eyes drifted downwards when he swallowed, the sight of Uryu’s pale throat a source of great interest. 

“Y-yes, Sado-kun?” 

Focusing once more, he said, “Just so you know, I don’t feel this way because of some knock to the head.” He leaned down and pressed a kiss to Uryu’s forehead, gently. The shocked look on the other boy’s face hadn’t disappeared by the time he pulled back. It flooded his chest with warmth. He took his hands away, sat back against the couch, and nodded solemnly. “Whatever you want for dinner is fine.” 

As if breaking out of ice, Uryu came back to himself. He flushed down to the collar of his shirt, and wouldn’t look Chad in the eye. There was a slouch to his shoulders that there hadn’t been a few minutes ago, like he had finally calmed down. His lips weren’t quite smiling, but they were turned up a little. “I’ll whip something up, and then we can watch something until it’s safe for you to sleep. I picked up the latest season of _Carnivore Kingdom_ last week.” 

“That sounds nice.” 


	2. If there were anymore left of me (I'd give it to you)

“Oh! Hello, Ichigo’s friend! Are you here to see him? I think he’s studying up in his room.” 

He exhaled a breath when the helpful twin answered the door. The angry one impressed him, and reminded him very much of her older brother, but he was nervous enough without her around. This one, with her constant chatter, gave him something to focus on.

“No, thanks. I’m here for a checkup.” Chad tapped his head for clarification and she nodded quickly. 

“That’s right! Follow me, and Dad will be right with you. You certainly look like you’re doing better, but you also aren’t covered in blood this time. Head wounds tend to bleed quite a bit, but I was starting to get worried...” 

Chad shadowed her, an agreeing noise or two slipping from his throat as needed. He sat in silence when she left to fetch her father. They returned quickly and the exam was a short one. Chad reported that he had felt normal over the last two days, because his impatience was not a symptom of the concussion, and his eating and sleeping habits were the same as usual. Dr. Kurosaki inspected the area around the stitches. He said Chad would have to have them removed in a while, but otherwise appeared to be in perfect health. Playing nurse, Ichigo’s sister instructed him to take a pain reliever if his head began to hurt, and advised him not to take too many. 

With a serious little look on her face, and her finger pointed at him in warning, she stressed that point. He pinky swore he would not. She was pleased with his sincerity and escorted him to the exit, through the household rather than the clinic’s door. He had always admired how welcoming and close the Kurosaki family seemed to be. It was clear how much Ichigo cared for his sisters. Their father acted a little strange, but he appeared to love them dearly. 

“Yuzu! Yuzu! Where are you? Yu-” 

Ichigo came around the corner, stopping in his tracks and blinking in confusion when he saw Chad in the dining room of the Kurosaki home. “Chad? What are you doing here, man?” He suddenly remembered he had been looking for his sister, and turned to her. “Karin needs your help in there, Yuzu. I think she’s burnt the vegetables you asked her to watch.” 

The girl, Yuzu, looked comically panicked and wished him a nice evening before bolting off. He thought she was sweet, if a little apprehensive. She reminded him of Uryu. 

“So?” Ichigo prompted, running a hand through his hair. “What’s up?” 

“Just needed to make sure my head’s all clear.” 

“Oh, right. Have you, uh, had any problems with that, or anything?” He peered closely at Chad, like he could see whether or not his head was in order if he looked close enough. 

“Not really. My head stopped hurting a few hours after it happened. Uryu insisted I get a check up.” 

With a roll of his eyes, Ichigo said, “Yeah, that guy’s pretty persistent when he wants to be.” 

Chad nodded in agreement. He knew firsthand how stubborn Uryu was. “He said he wasn’t sure I could make any important decisions until I had been checked out by a doctor.” 

“That’s Ishida, alright!” Ichigo laughed, throwing his head back and bracing a hand on his stomach. He and Uryu had a relationship Chad still didn’t really understand, but they somehow managed to be friends even while radiating animosity. “What did he stop you from doing? Buying a moped? Adopting an iguana?” 

Belatedly, it occurred to him that he should have thought over telling him the truth a bit more. His feelings for Uryu had been something he mulled over sharing with Ichigo for a while, but until Uryu had acted so strangely a few weeks ago, he hadn’t really thought he had a shot. They were close, in a way. It was different than with Ichigo, who he had years of familiarity to fall back upon.

What he felt around Uryu electrified him, new shock waves erupting in his chest every time the most insignificant thing happened for the first time. Chad thought about him all the time. Sometimes, he didn't really have any thoughts at all, just an ache and a curiosity and a hunch Uryu could satisfy both. He had never felt like this before.. With Ichigo, it was as easy as breathing, as easy as having each other's backs, as easy as opening his mouth and answering a question. 

“I tried to kiss him.” 

His friend had been ready to laugh, lips pulled back and face expectant. There wasn’t a punchline, though. Chad didn’t tell a lot of jokes. He stared at Ichigo patiently. 

Finally, he seemed to realize that Chad was done talking. His mouth fell open, the curling edges gone in an instant as he gaped at the tall boy in front of him. “You-you tried to kiss him?” 

He hummed in answer, nodding his head as he realized that maybe he should have introduced all of this information slowly. Mostly, his mind was focused on the fact the that he could now kiss Uryu, since Dr. Kurosaki gave him a clean bill of health, and wondering if it would be rude to show up at his apartment this late when they both had class the next day. He had neglected to put enough attention into the current conversation, as usual. Chad tried to explain more effectively.

“I’ve been thinking about it for a while,” and he saw Ichigo brace a hand against the wall beside him when Chad said _a while_. “Then I started to pick up some hints that he might be open to it. He was very concerned after I got injured. Then, at his place, we were talking....” He trailed off, unsure of how much he wanted to share. Ichigo looked pretty pale anyway. 

“He said that he wouldn’t take advantage of me while I was injured,” Chad said in a voice that indicated a direct quote, “and I should wait two days. So, I waited.” 

“...he wouldn’t take advantage of you...” 

He nodded. Ichigo staggered away from the wall supporting him and made his way to a chair. He sat down heavily, head in hands. _Maybe he has a concussion, too_ , Chad thought. He didn’t recall Ichigo getting hurt, since he hadn’t even been present for the fight, but something could have happened since then. It was a good thing his father was a doctor. 

“So, you’re tellin’ me, not only are you interested in _kissing Ishida_ _Uryu_ ,” which Ichigo made sound like a complicated phrase in an unfamiliar language, “but you tried to do – that – the other day.” 

“Yeah.” 

“And my dad said your head is just fine, which Ishida insisted had to happen before he would kiss you.” 

“That’s right.” 

“Do you know how insane this is?” 

“It’s not their fault you’re blind, idiot,” snapped the angry twin. Chad hadn’t noticed her come in, but he was pretty distracted by the conversation. It felt important. His friends would have opinions of a relationship – potential or otherwise – between him and Uryu. They were a team, too. A change in dynamics was news for all of them. 

He thought it was important that they approve of this, even if his feelings felt bigger than any opposition that he had thought of in the last two days. “I didn’t know how to bring it up.” he said, staring at Ichigo meaningfully. 

He scrubbed a hand over his face and then ran it through his orange hair, face blank. “You like him?” 

“Did you not see them the other day?” the girl scoffed. “That stuffy guy looked like a kitten trying to guard a bear when Dad got those scissors out. You’re always going on about how they’re such a good team and you don’t get it because the other guy is _so annoying_.” She rolled her eyes, a mirror of the brother she was mocking. 

“Well, yeah,” Ichigo retorted, stumbling over the beginning of several different words before giving up. He inhaled for several seconds, looked between his sister and his friend, and exhaled loudly. “Uh, I noticed that you and Uryu have been getting closer. I thought it was, like, no big deal. Guess I didn’t expect the direction it was obviously going in.” 

His sister stomped out of the room with a huff, her bangs blown up from her forehead and her eyes seeking out the ceiling. She was muttering to herself like Ichigo does when he got angry. Chad thought he heard her say something about oblivious boys, but she was gone pretty fast. 

The air sat heavily between them when they were alone. He didn’t know how to talk about this. He had spent the last several months convinced there would never be a reason to talk about these particular feelings. “Me either,” Chad said. Of the hundred or so reasons he never thought Uryu would consider anything other than his friendship, he wasn’t sure which ones to express. He didn’t have the time to list them all. He wanted to get over to Uryu’s before dark. Finally, he settled on saying, “It was kind of hard to tell if he liked me or not.” 

“Oh, damn,” Ichigo muttered, pinching his chin and squinting his eyes at the floor. “Rukia said something about Ishida being into you like...three months ago. Something about the way he’s always almost-touching you. Huh. I always thought he was asexual. Shit, is he _gay_? I’m gonna owe Tatsuki so much money...” 

“I... don’t know.” 

The red-head looked at Chad, searchingly. “Are you?” 

Chad shrugged. He never felt the need to spend time searching for a label, finding a name for the way he felt about someone. “I like who I like.” 

“Alright.” He nodded as if that made the most sense of anything Chad had said, despite the ambiguity of his answer. “Ishida doesn’t really seem to like anybody, really, except maybe Orihime.” 

He ignored the way his stomach twisted at that, a worry from days ago echoed right there in the Kurosaki dining room. That one doubt came back more often than the rest. He knew what it was to look at someone pure and good, and want nothing more than to be close to them. 

  
“But he’s always pretty nice to you. When he fixes your clothes, he never bitches about it like he does with me. You definitely work the best with him, out of all of us. He overshadows Orihime in an effort to protect her, we can’t stop arguing long enough to get anything done, and Rukia doesn’t play well with anyone. There was that day at the park, too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so worried about anybody. Hell, you, like, held his hand for a second. I was there for that.” He shook off the astonished look he wore and stared off towards the window across the room for a minute, face serious. “Is this gonna make you happy?” 

He thought of the way Uryu blushed when he reached out to touch him, how Uryu’s touch seemed thrilling and comforting at the same time. For days, the only thing on his mind was getting closer to him. They had talked on the phone, yesterday, and Chad didn’t even mind when his hand cramped from cradling the tiny cell phone to his ear for so long; Uryu didn’t mind that he did most of the talking, with mostly one-word responses from the other line. He wanted to ask Uryu if he meant what he had said, and how long he had wanted Chad to kiss him, if it was actually a dream his mind convinced him was real under the effects of the concussion? The memory of Uryu hugging him goodbye the morning he left his apartment, an unhurried and soft press of his body against Chad’s before he used the same weighted gentleness to press a newly stitched up shirt into his hands, reassured him otherwise. 

Chad realized that his heartbeat was swelling in the silence, and Ichigo was waiting for an answer. “Yes, I think so.” He nodded to affirm this. Nothing else made him feel like this, at least. 

“All that’s left to do is find out, then, right?” 

“Right. See you later, Ichigo.” 

“Good luck, buddy!” He led Chad out the door, shaking his head in disbelief, but smiling wide. “You’re gonna need it. Ishida could eat you alive.” 

* * *

The streets were quiet and empty. Most people sat down for dinner with their families around this time, tucked away in their houses. He didn’t mind the solitude. It allowed him to move faster through the streets, and he fought the urge to run. It would take him nearly no time to get there if he did, but it would also be unfortunate to kiss Uryu for the first time when he was sweaty and breathless from a _run_. 

He tried not to think too hard during the walk. Usually, he handled things with intuition and a bit of thought. His patience was legendary. His words were few. All of the most basic facts about him were twisted up with Uryu thrown in the mix. He found himself doing nothing but thinking, unable to understand what the other boy meant or wanted. It was maddening. Chad resorted to seeking him out, which made him feel wrong-footed and forward. Some of the resulting conversations had been stilted and awkward. Many of them went well, though short-lived, and a precious few had been meaningful enough to lead him...here. 

A cold bead of dread rolled down his spine, and the air became heavy in a way that had nothing to do with awkward conversations. He stopped walking. The feeling didn’t go away. He let out the breath he was holding and rolled his shoulders. This time, he did not hesitate to break into a run. 

He made it as far as the next street before Ichigo caught up, jumping down from a rooftop, nearly silent. The noise of Rukia's tiny feet coming after them grew louder. He knew she had to live close to Ichigo – they walked together, often, and arrived together whenever there was danger – but he hadn’t realized that she lived this close. He wondered if she stayed with some type of surrogate family in their world, or if she lived alone, like he and Uryu, and Orihime, too. 

“We can take care of this small fry if you wanna keep going,” Ichigo offered, hand drifting towards his sword and mouth pulled into a wide smirk. He got stronger every day, Chad marveled, and there didn’t seem to be an end in sight. 

Not one to leave his friends behind, Chad only shook his head. There was safety in numbers; not to mention, he would never forgive himself if something happened to Ichigo or another one of his friends. It was best he went along. Uryu would have surely felt the Hollow by now and had the same thought. 

The three of them stumbled into the Hollow a block before Rukia’s little cell phone said they should, and Ichigo charged straight at it, sword raised and mouth opened wide in a wordless battle cry, before Chad had even taken stock of the situation. The hulking, bird-like monster and his friend clashed, the beginnings of a gruesome dance that was growing more familiar all the time. It roared when Ichigo slashed successfully at one of its wing-like appendages. The noise made him spring into action, tackling Ichigo out of the way when the Hollow tried to slam a clawed foot down on him. 

His arms locked around Ichigo, they tumbled across the grass and stopped in a tangle of legs and fabric. Rukia was shouting at them, some instructions he didn’t care to hear. Chad got back on his feet. Fighting with a plan in mind wasn’t really his style. He got along pretty well when he focused on pummeling and not being pummeled. Anything more than that was sure to distract him. He’d never felt the need to voice this to Rukia, who seemed to want to help where she could. Ichigo had his body angled slightly towards her, even though he was yards away, either in an effort to listen or an automatic reflex to protect her, Chad couldn’t tell. 

The monster shot into the air, a great gust of wind forcing him to plant his feet and brace himself. Ichigo was not so lucky. The force threw him back, his sandals sliding uselessly across the grass until he fell backwards. Chad put an arm up to shield his eyes and looked towards the sky. 

He had no chance of hitting that thing all the way up there, unless Rukia wanted to take a shot at it. Behind him, Ichigo was cursing and getting his feet underneath him. The monster laughed, Chad thought, an ugly sound. 

There was no way to get at this thing without being on the roof or something, and it was preparing to swoop down at them, if the way it was beating its wings was any indication. Apparently, he couldn't always operate without a plan.. Chad looked above the Hollow, and turned to his friends. Ichigo and Rukia were in each other’s faces, as they so often were, arguing strategy. There wasn’t a lot of time for that. 

“Hey, Ichigo,” he said. 

The two of them stopped fighting, like someone had flipped a switch, and Ichigo looked at him seriously. “Yeah? What is it?” 

“If he isn’t looking your way, do you think you can sneak up on him?” He jabbed a thumb in the direction of the tallest building around, which looked a story or more taller than where the monster was floating in the air. 

There was a moment in almost every fight Chad and Ichigo had fought together, a tangible instant, where his entire being changed. His ridiculously strong spiritual energy was only a part of it. Ichigo seemed to flicker between two people, sometimes; there was his friend, headstrong and compassionate, and there was this other guy that Chad only caught a glimpse of, when there was blood to be shed. The light in his eyes and the set of his mouth shifted. His hands flexed around his zanpakuto, feet gliding into a better position, muscles coiled and relaxing all at one. Whoever he was, he was a predator. Chad could tell that much. 

“Keep him looking the other way,” Ichigo said, grin sharp. 

Rukia cried out, “Wait!” but they were already on the move. 

They deployed this tactic frequently enough that it was easy for him to charge and dodge, charge and dodge, until he was close enough to land a blow. The Hollow kept away from him easily. Its huge wings blocked out the sky, sent gusts of winds strong enough he had to stop moving in order to stay upright. Chad grit his teeth and kept going. Cackling, the monster swooped lower. 

He raised his arm to take another shot at the beast. Out of the corner of his eye, a flash of orange moved across the rooftops, almost close enough to reach the Hollow. Jaw set, Chad braced himself and aimed. The Hollow raised up in a powerful surge of its wings, but not fast enough. A chunk of its leg was missing. It screeched, angry and ear-splitting. He tensed his legs and took off running. 

A pump of the Hollow’s wings had him planting his feet, arm over his eyes to shield them. The monster laughed again, diving low, and taunted him, “That’s right, stay where you are.” 

It landed on one clawed foot, the other swinging down and slamming into him. He tried to hold it off. The arm shielding his face grabbed at one enormous talon as the ground broke up around his feet where he was being pushed back. His other hand slammed against it to no avail. He couldn't gain any ground. With another resentful cackle, the Hollow pushed harder. Chad ended up flat on his back, caught with three sharp talons clenched around him. 

He tried not to panic, flexing his body to test the beast’s grip, eyes desperately locked on the Hollow in order to avoid looking for Ichigo. He couldn’t give him away. Not if either of them wanted to survive this. The Hollow added pressure, sinking him further into the ground. He could not move. 

“That’s quite an arm, you have there,” it said sweetly. “What are you made of, little man? Your spiritual pressure is very interesting, for a human.” 

There was movement above the Hollow, the gleam of metal flashing against the sky, and Chad started struggling under its grip in order to keep it focused. With an annoyed sound, it stomped down on him. Dirt covered his face. He shook his head, wriggled as hard as he could. The Hollow beat its wings in fury. 

Chad heard Ichigo curse, the wind knocking him away before he could reach the beast, and he stopped moving. Talons clenched around him, the Hollow lifted one to press down on Chad’s throat. It clacked its beak at him, malevolent laughter tumbling out in sharp shrieks. Satisfied, the Hollow turned its heard to look sharply at the orange haired boy charging its way. The laughter grew louder and the pressure worse. His heart raced. He couldn’t breathe. His hands tried to get to his throat, remove the claw sealing his airways shut. He couldn't move. 

With its head turned away, the Hollow never saw the bolt of reishi heading his way. Chad did. He knew that color better than any other, at this point, even better than the conspicuous thread in his favorite shirt. He stopped struggling. He closed his eyes against the blinding light of Uryu’s power, held his breath as the arrow had passed over him. 

When he opened his eyes, the monster was stumbling backwards on one foot, the other sitting atop Chad uselessly. Unattached to the beast, it could not choke Chad. It couldn’t keep him down, either. He scrambled to his feet, the giant, clawed foot falling to the side. Air had never felt so good. His lungs expanded greedily and his throat ached as he took several deep breaths. 

Grasping his throat, he rocked back on his heels and watched as the second bolt of blue streaked through the sky. Dead on, it pierced the Hollow straight through the eye and began disintegrating the monster. The beast’s final shriek rang through the air, a better sound than its laughter. Chad felt relief wash over him and turned in the direction the arrows had come from. 

Much closer than he would have thought, Uryu stalked towards him. His trademark white outfit, the cross motif and the strange cape, were a familiar sight. The ferocious scowl on his face was, too, but he usually saw that directed at Ichigo. As soon as he saw Chad staring, Uryu began yelling furiously at him. He frowned in confusion. His throat still hurt, but he could breathe, but he didn’t know why he was being yelled at. 

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Distantly, Chad thought that was the first time he had ever heard Uryu curse, and he liked it. Though now was not the time to dwell on that. “You idiot! Did I not make myself clear the other day?” 

He swept past Orihime, who Chad had not even noticed. She had pressed her hands over her mouth. Probably after she heard Uryu curse. Belatedly, she reached out as if to grab him and said, “Uryu, please, calm down!” 

As if he didn’t hear, Uryu kept advancing on Chad. He thrust his hand out and allowed his bow to disappear, balling both of his hands into fists when they were free. Seeing this, Ichigo took a step forward as if to get between them. Without breaking his stride, the Quincy turned to snarl at him. Ichigo smartly backed down. Chad watched as Uryu got closer, stripping his glove from his hand and throwing it to the ground. He was only a few feet away, and his voice was much louder without the distance. 

“You cannot be so reckless! I told you, Sado – what did I say?” He cut himself off, like he couldn’t finish what he was saying. Chad wasn’t sure he’d ever seen Uryu unable to talk. His eyes were on fire, the same way they lit up when he was about to destroy something standing in his path. He put his hands out and Chad worried, for a split second, that Uryu was going to punch him. It wouldn’t be anything he couldn’t handle. It wouldn’t bode well for their relationship, either. He hoped that Uryu wouldn’t punch him. 

There were no fists, and he hadn’t opted to shoot him up close, which was his guess until the bow disappeared and the glove came off. Chad could hear it flop on the ground. He expected Uryu to pick it up, like he had thrown it by accident. Instead, Uryu launched himself at the much larger boy. Chad caught him, large hands settling on his waist to keep Uryu in place.

Chest heaving, eyes alight, Uryu crushed their mouths together. One of his hands tangled in the hair at the nape of Chad's neck, careful to avoid his stitches. He wasn't careful about much else. His glasses were shoved uncomfortably into Chad’s face, and he kissed with much more emotion than technique. He was like finally reaching the sun, an impossible heat flaring up wherever Uryu touched him. He was perfect. 

Chad locked his arms around Uryu’s waist and lifted him up. He tilted his head so that their lips slotted together properly. It also took care of the glasses thing, which he was thankful for, and made Uryu brace himself by wrapping a hand around Chad’s bicep. Uryu was touching him and it was even better than he had ever dreamed. 

In some far corner of his mind, Chad remembered that his friends were all getting front row seats to this surprisingly public display of affection. He heard Ichigo making very real-sounding retching noises, and Orihime squealing. None of that really mattered, though. He was far too drunk on the fact that Uryu was in his arms; Uryu was kissing him. His lips were soft, despite the fierce insistence that he kissed with, and Chad groaned under them. It rumbled through his chest, and Uryu's, if the way he shivered was anything to go by, but it made him press himself impossibly closer and growl against Chad’s mouth. He flexed his arms around his waist in response. He hadn’t been expecting any of this: Uryu's touch leaving a trail of fire where he dragged his hand from Chad's arm to his cheek, his teeth branding Chad’s bottom lip, the way they fit together as well as they fought together. He kissed Uryu hard, expressing what he couldn’t with words. 

Uryu tugged on his lip and his hair at the same time and Chad groaned. His hands itched to move, to claim, to take. There was a primal, hungry feeling building in his chest. It would crush him if he let it. With great patience, he put his hands back on Uryu’s hips and pulled him away. The way he panted against his lips and refused to relent his hold on Chad’s hair made it impossible to resist, and he dipped his head back down to press another kiss to his lips. It was brief, burning. 

There was a silence, and Uryu looked pointedly at the ground, which the toes of his shoes were grazing. Chad struggled to stop looking at Uryu’s mouth. He knew what it felt like, now, hot and demanding. He wanted to know what it tasted like. He realized what Uryu was trying to say when he cleared his throat. His hands were still around the other boy’s waist. Uryu’s hands were still on him, too. 

Chad smiled softly. “Sorry.” He put him down gently, missing the contact as they retracted their hands and became two different people once again. 

Now that they were unoccupied, Uryu’s hands were lost. He pushed up his glasses, smoothed down his shirt, and then finally folded his arms across his chest, only able to let himself look defensive as a last resort. “I told you,” he began, in a tone much colder than the mouth he had just kissed Chad with moments ago, “to be careful.” 

He definitely remembered that. Uryu liked to repeat himself. However, it wasn’t like he had planned on getting choked and nearly crushed to death. They hadn’t accounted for wind force, after all. Battles were complicated. Bad things happened. He knew that Uryu had the same knowledge and experience he did – more, probably. They were in danger as long as they were fighting Hollows. They would fight as long as the Hollows kept coming.

“I’m sorry,” he said. Not for fighting, or endangering himself for the sake of others, but for worrying Uryu. He was sorry for that. 

Uryu looked from the ground to Chad’s chin, eyes narrowed and wet. His shoulders jutted out in angry angles, elbows tucked into his sides. Without wavering, he said, “Apology accepted.” 

“Uryu,” he murmured, and his blue eyes climbed up to meet Chad’s, at long last. “Thank you, for saving me.” He glanced up, thinking about the last time they had fought together, and corrected himself. “Again.” Uryu reddened at this, his cheeks and the tip of his nose flushing. He grinned a little at the smaller boy. 

“This is in no way going to become a regular thing, just so you know. You’re going to have to stop being so block-headed when you engage an enemy, Sado. When you’re fighting with an ally like Ichigo, here, who has only one style of attacking – which is to yell and charge-" 

“Wha- Hey!” the redhead cried. 

“-then you need to work around their faults and become more flexible.” 

“I’ll try to remember that,” Chad said. It wasn’t really Ichigo’s fault. He wasn’t going to correct Uryu, though, not right now. 

“What the hell, Uryu?” Ichigo asked, grinding his teeth. Apparently recovered, he was more than well enough to start another argument. _Typical Ichigo_ , Chad thought. 

Sneering, Uryu snapped back, “Do I need to explain, in depth, how simply hitting your target would have gone a long way towards not putting my boyfriend in mortal danger?” 

All of the anger left Ichigo's face in one slick change of expression, and he grinned deviously, raising his brows at Uryu with a challenging glint in his eyes. It reminded him of Jinta, the little boy from Urahara's who liked to cause trouble for girl Ururu. “Your boyfriend, huh? Shouldn’t Chad have a little say in that?” 

The question had the desired effect. Uryu looked like someone had woken up a cat with a cold bucket of water. Every muscle in his body froze and his mouth twisted into a scowl, then opened, but nothing came out so he closed it again. Chad could, once again, see his mind overworking itself. He imagined Uryu with smoke coming out his ears, or his hair standing up like a cat’s. It wasn’t as nice as kissing-the-life-out-of-him Uryu. 

“It’s fine.” Chad dropped a hand onto Uryu's shoulder and tugged him closer. He stumbled forward, fit underneath Chad's arm like he belonged there. “I like it.” 

Rukia elbowed Ichigo in the stomach when he started to fake gag. He bit back a chuckle as his friend was knocked backwards. She was strong, for being so tiny. “Right. The Hollow has been destroyed, thanks to Ishida's timely attack, so if that’s all, I think its best we all head home.” 

“If that’s all,” Ichigo sputtered. “Chad nearly died, Uryu saved him, then tried to kill him again with his mouth, and now they’re dating, but that’s _all_.” 

“That’s right. Congratulations, you two.” Rukia gave them an encouraging smile and turned back to Ichigo. She stared him down, unimpressed with his theatrical recount of the evening's events. He immediately wilted under her stare and threw his hands up, grumbling under his breath. Rukia smiled brightly at the two of them, grabbed a stunned Orihime by her wrist, and bid them goodnight. 

He and Uryu were left alone, and the other boy was getting tenser by the second. Chad could feel him, slender body pressed against his side growing stiffer and stiffer. He bit back a sigh and started to walk. Uryu scrambled to pick up his feet for a moment, but Chad was patient and didn’t walk too fast once they were moving. 

Uryu stayed tucked under his arm as he started to walk, never asking where they were going or what Chad was thinking. He relaxed once they had made it down a few empty streets. The sun was setting. The buildings around them threw shadows onto the street, broken up by the lights flickering on by the time they were halfway to his place. 

A car passed them and Uryu got tripped up over nothing, Chad’s arm around his shoulders keeping him steady. The lights illuminated them and passed on. Chad watched as Uryu's sharp eyes sent a backwards glance at the vehicle and he rolled his shoulders meaningfully. Chad let his arm drop. Beside him, Uryu pushed his glasses up. His hand lingered at the bridge. Exhaling loudly through his nose, he let his hand fall to his side and then grasped Chad’s hand in his own. His palm was cool, fingers tense, doubt rolling off of him in waves. 

His face was red when Chad glanced down at him. He met the larger boy’s gaze though, and his face softened as Chad’s thumb swept over his knuckles. Affection was something Uryu struggled to show, and seeing it written on his face, a flush on his cheeks and defiant pride in the set of his shoulders, felt significant. His throat tightened in a way that had nothing to do with a Hollow choking him to death. With his gaze forward, on the pavement ahead, and Uryu’s hand in his, he was able to bear the weight of his emotions. 

* * *

His apartment was small, with an open floor plan versus the square rooms of Uryu’s, though he kept it fairly clean. It usually smelled nice, too, thanks to the bakery next to his building. The scent would wake him up in the morning sometimes, stomach rumbling. He had become a regular. As he led Uryu into his home, he wondered if he would like the place. He liked sweets, in moderation. Chad didn’t let himself linger on why he would have Uryu over so early, or why he would want to be there, heavy-limbed and hungry at such an hour, with Chad. 

He sat Uryu down on the couch, which he didn’t like as much as the one at the other boy’s house, and excused himself to change out of his dirt-crusted clothes. When he returned, he saw that Uryu immediately recognized his shirt. It was the same floral-patterned one he patched up with the mismatched blue. Chad didn’t say anything, only crouched down to put on some music. Behind him, Uryu waited while he browsed the large collection of discs. He liked that Uryu did not rush him. He wasn’t the most patient person, Chad knew, but he tried a lot of the time. Uryu never would have wasted time searching for a title; he would have known what he wanted before he approached the stereo. Despite this, he allowed Chad to take his time. After some deliberation, he slipped one of the cases from the middle of a stack and opened it up. With the disc playing, he turned to the couch. 

Like the other day, Uryu sat not quite in the middle of the couch, an unspoken invitation. He looked down at him fondly, the beginnings of something soft and crooning reaching from the speakers and into his chest. Chad took a seat next to him, close enough their knees bumped. He put his arm over the back of the couch. It was his own unspoken invitation. 

It was different, without the rush and worry of a fight, when they weren’t saving the day, when they were just people with two racing hearts and tight throats. This was a pressure Uryu didn’t know how to perform under, a barrier Chad couldn’t punch through. Uryu was persistent; Chad was patient. He thought they could figure it out. 

Brushing their knees together, Chad said, “I was leaving Ichigo’s house when the Hollow appeared.” 

“Oh?” Uryu asked, a petulant syllable, and Chad realized that maybe Ichigo wasn’t a topic that should be discussed, right now. Pushing his glasses up, Uryu shifted away. Their knees were not touching. 

He took a breath, tried again. “That’s right. I went to see Dr. Kurosaki.” His arm moved from the back of the couch to curl around Uryu. Understanding, he thawed under Chad’s arm, pressing their sides together, hand tentatively resting on Chad’s leg. He stared at Uryu’s hand. “I’ll have to get my stitches out in a little over a week.” 

When there was no response, he lifted his eyes up expectantly. Uryu’s throat bobbed, and Chad stared. “That’s good. Are you...suffering from any side effects?” 

His lips tipped upwards and he met Uryu’s anxious eyes. “Does that...still matter?” 

Color bloomed on his cheeks; his fingers twitched against Chad’s leg as he let out an indignant noise. “Of course, it matters!” he rushed to say. “Your health is very important-” He stopped talking when Chad reached out and brushed his hair out his face, fingers bumping into his glasses by accident. “Yasutora,” he protested. 

“You really ought to call me that, if we’re boyfriends,” he rumbled. 

The flush spread down his neck, and Chad wanted very much to know how far down it went. Uryu was always covered up, all high collars and long sleeves. “Are we, then?” He looked like there was sand in his mouth. Chad should have thought to get them drinks. Uryu was a much better host. “Boyfriends?” 

Was it only a few weeks ago that he and Uryu sat on another couch and he listened to a lecture on being too thick-headed? Had he somehow been sending the wrong signals? Chad focused intently on Uryu, arm around his shoulders and half turned towards him, confused. He was the one who claimed they were dating. He was more than happy to along with Uryu’s words. There didn’t need to be a big fuss about asking; he had been trying to let Uryu know he liked him for a while, now. 

Emotions were something he struggled with, since he had stopped exclusively punching things to express himself. Most things he either handled or put away. It made for a simple system, but he was a simple guy. He took up a lot of space, and had a lot of strength. He also spoke softly, if at all, and didn’t really like taking charge. Chad followed Ichigo into battle, protected people in danger, listened when Orihime or Keigo or Mahana wanted to speak, and he _liked_ Uryu. He needed to be very obvious about that last one, apparently. 

"Yes,” he said plainly. “I would like that.” 

“Me too,” he answered, the words a relieved sigh. As an afterthought, he added, "Yasutora."

Chad thought he might be sweating, just a little bit. “I’m alright, the doctor said.” 

Shakily, Uryu took his hand off Chad’s knee and placed it on his throat. He swallowed under the touch. Uryu would be touching him a lot more, as his boyfriend. Chad hadn’t thought of how difficult this would be. Fingers trailing over his skin, Uryu asked, “Are you sure? I was almost-” He cut himself off. His hand was curled around Chad’s neck, fingertips sitting atop his pulse, a stark contrast to the talon pressed against his throat earlier that day. With an inhale that shook his shoulders, Uryu closed his eyes. 

Chad’s heart lurched, and drew him forward with it. He pulled Uryu to his chest. His face was pressed into the other side of Chad’s neck, sharp breaths ghosting over his collarbone. He put his chin on top of Uryu’s head and waited. 

It was scary, fighting all those monsters. He usually ignored the fear, or drew off of it, but he didn’t dwell on it. If he did, he would end up trembling like Uryu a lot more often. Chad was no stranger to fear. Every time he fought, he was afraid of dying. Every time he protected someone, he was afraid of failing. It was something he handled on those long walks by himself, or got rid of a little bit, by things like days spent in the sun with his friends or holding Uryu’s hand. 

He didn’t know how Uryu handled these things, only just allowed close enough to find out. Chad smoothed his hand along Uryu’s back, kept an arm wrapped around his shoulders, and sat patiently. He was solid, stable. If nothing else, he could hold Uryu and be that. The closeness was new, unfamiliar. He savored it. 

Uryu’s hand drifted from his neck to his chest, where he pressed insistently until Chad backed up a little. His nose and eyes were pink. It wasn’t as nice as his blush. He leaned back, tilting his head up to look at Chad. His eyes were red, too. He glanced back down to his hand against Chad’s shirt. His fingers were inches away from the repair he had made on the breast. The tension started to build back up in his shoulders, but he released it with a deep exhale, a wave breaking before it could crest. 

“I know I should have asked the first time, but I,” he paused, wetting his lips nervously, and Chad’s eyes tracked the action closely, “would like to kiss you.” 

An amused noise slipped out of his throat before he could help himself. Uryu’s mouth twisted into an annoyed pout. It only made Chad want to kiss him more. “You don’t really have to ask.”

His blue eyes widened, like he was surprised by this information. Chad dipped down and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips. He pulled away when Uryu began to respond too enthusiastically, smiling against his lips before he did. The stereo thumped, slow and soft, along with the song. The beat almost matched his heart. 

Uryu looked at Chad’s mouth hungrily. The raw emotion looked good on him. He liked it better than the usual fierce ambition that shined through his eyes when Uryu wanted something. There didn’t seem to be any thoughts of Quincy honor or chivalry on his mind. His hand fisted in Chad’s shirt, and pulled, and he was right, on both accounts. Uryu had strong hands, and he certainly wasn’t thinking about codes of conduct. 

He was a fast learner, and tilted his head the right way this time, molding his lips against the other boy’s and sighing contentedly. The noise was so soft it made Chad’s heart ache. He kissed Uryu hard, pulling back and trailing his plush lips across his chin and down his jaw. Uryu gasped. His hands pulled Chad closer, one still gripping his shirt. Fleetingly, he had the presence of mind to hope that he wouldn’t rip it, but then Uryu fisted his hand in his hair and Chad forgot all about that. He groaned his approval, planting hot, open-mouthed kisses along the silky skin of Uryu’s throat. 

“Yasu,” he gasped, insistent, tugging on Chad’s dark hair. “Please." 

The way he spoke right against Chad’s lips; ever-formal Uryu’s decisive shortening of his name; the idea that _Uryu_ would beg something of him – Chad was overwhelmed. He leaned back, following the grip on his hair, and sucked in as much air as he could in order to steady himself. It didn’t last. Uryu greedily led their mouths back together, and Chad settled his big hands on Uryu’s hips. The touch drew a desperate sound from the other boy. He wanted to hear more. 

Uryu pulled away, and Chad almost didn’t mind. He had seen Uryu flustered plenty of times, but this was different than when someone got the best of him in an argument or Ichigo got him riled up. For one thing, he looked pleased. And that pleased Chad, intensifying the swooping in his stomach; he liked the idea of pleasing Uryu, someone both brutally honest and honorable. Someone that looked at him like _that_ when he hadn’t much of anything, yet. 

The sight of Uryu’s bruised lips almost distracted him from noticing that he wanted to speak. His lips, the flush of his skin, his stuttering breaths – they were all tangible reminders of what they were just doing. What they could be doing, now. 

He shifted uncomfortably, hands still on Uryu’s hips. He untangled his hand from Chad's hair and retracted it to his lap. That made it a little easier to pay attention, and he figured he should. He was pushing up his glasses and twisting his fingers in Chad’s shirt at the same time. Something had to be on his mind. Something besides what was on Chad's, apparently.

“I’ve not really,” he started, untangled his hand from the floral shirt, “dated anyone in the past, and I certainly haven’t...opened up about my preferences.” 

Chad hummed in acknowledgement, or maybe agreement. Beyond his talk with Ichigo, and a few memories of unwavering acceptance he kept tucked away, he hadn’t either. There were a few dates here and there in his past – he had often played wingman for Kiego or Mizuiro, attending an uncomfortable double date – he had never been anyone’s boyfriend. In the context of dating Uryu, it made him feel hot all over. He was definitely sweating, now.

The noise seemed to encourage Uryu. He wrinkled his nose a little, which made Chad want to kiss him again, and laughed, low and lost, “I don’t really know what I’m doing. You’re one of the most patient people I’ve ever met, so if you could exercise that patience.... I assure you,” he said, more confidently, the indomitable Uryu that he saw every day, “that I am a very quick learner. The subject is one that has fascinated me for a while, you see, and the, ah, hands-on lessons have been very enlightening.” 

Uryu's teasing surprised him. He grinned, slow, smug. Instead of answering, Chad stared at him, big, brown eyes full of quiet understanding. There was more, from the set of Uryu’s shoulders, so he would listen. His thumbs started to move in little circles on Uryu’s hips. The grin on his face grew when Uryu glanced down at Chad's lips, getting distracted from his own speech. 

“The developments in our relationship,” Uryu said in a voice husky enough to make Chad really listen, “initially took me by surprise. I thought, dubiously, after you advised me not to worry so much about my stitching, that you might feel similarly.” He stroked his fingers along the patched shirt, matching eyes half-lidded with the memory. 

“That’s when I knew,” he said. 

“When you knew what, exactly?” 

“That you liked me.” 

Uryu’s cheeks flared with color, and Chad laughed, low and rumbling. He started to take his hand away, push his glasses up or some other defensive, fidgety gesture. With a tug on his hips, Chad pulled Uryu into his lap, pale hand flattening against his chest to keep himself balanced. He leaned down and put his lips right next to Uryu’s ear. 

“Don’t worry. I like you, too.” 

Flushed but laughing, Uryu said, “Yes, well,” and cleared his throat. “I hadn’t planned on addressing my interest. I struggled to come up with something suitable to say, let alone find the right time to say anything, and all I had to go on was a hint of a caress.” 

He made up for that now, one large hand splayed across Uryu’s lower back and the other one smoothing a path up and down a pale arm. Touching Uryu was easy. The contact came intuitively, and Uryu was outspoken enough that Chad trusted him to speak up if he did something wrong. His hands could only say so much, though. “I didn’t want to scare you off.” 

“So, you decided to scare me half to death, instead?” He rolled his eyes in a truly impressive expression, fond and outraged all together. Uryu settled his pretty, blue eyes, pupils large and dark, back on Chad in clear accusation. 

“That was an accident. I didn’t know you would worry so much.” 

That was wrong, and Uryu said much before he even opened his mouth. His anger had been for show until then. It blazed to life now, like his spiritual pressure under a challenge, straightening his spine under Chad’s hand and twisting his mouth into a scowl. He didn’t move away, like Chad thought he would, but moved closer, crowding him.

“Is that what you thought? I wouldn’t _worry so much_ , when you were laying on the ground, bleeding? Or when you were pinned to the ground by a Hollow with the life being choked out of you?” 

“Uryu-” 

Chad stopped. Uryu held his chin between two bone-white fingers, a strength most people wouldn’t notice pressed against his jawbone. On his chest, Uryu’s hand moved beneath the loose collar of his shirt, seeking out the heat of Chad’s skin. A wordless noise broke out of his throat. He quieted under Uryu’s glare. 

“If this is going to work, Sado, you have to understand that _this_ ,” he emphasized, his hand covering Chad’s pounding heart, but he couldn’t finish that thought. Uryu took an unsteady breath. He closed his eyes, opened them back up to Chad, waiting. “It was fine, when I had nothing to lose, when I was just fighting as the last Quincy, vengeful and honor bound. It’s easy to fight that way. I knew that if I fell in battle, it would have been a decent end to the legacy I represent.” 

“That’s a stupid thing to think,” Chad said simply. He ran a big hand along Uryu’s arm, cupping the hand that held his chin. Uryu let him pry it away. His eyes stayed on Chad’s as he tenderly kissed the pale wrist by his face, too enthralled to be upset. The blue veins spanning Uryu’s marble skin made the perfect path for his lips. “You always had something to lose.” 

He dropped Uryu’s hand to mirror the way he touched Chad’s chest, a palm right over his heart. “You had this to lose.” Leaning down, he placed another kiss on Uryu’s forehead. “You had us.” Not just him, but Ichigo, Rukia, and Orihime, too.

“It’s different,” he protested, weakly. 

“Maybe a little. It might be stronger, now, but it isn’t different.” 

Uryu exhaled through his nose, a concession. “My point is that with this-” 

“Dating,” Chad insisted. 

Another breath through his nose, but his lips twitched up at the corners. “With the two of us dating,” he said explicitly, “my focus is shifted. It isn’t a bad thing, necessarily, but I have to be able to trust that you’ll do everything in your power to stay safe when I’m not there to ensure that.” 

He raked a hand through Uryu’s raven black hair, thinking. This wasn’t a problem that would go away. Whatever he said right now would be reiterated a month from now, a year from now, until they found some semblance of peace. Righting the balance between the living and spirit worlds, defending the living from Hollows, it all seemed to be an endless task. So, fixing the problem wasn’t an option. 

Uryu grunted when Chad kissed him. He probably thought he was avoiding the conversation, because his idea of communication was so linear, so verbal. With persistence and slow, smoldering kisses, Uryu started to get the picture. He pressed their foreheads together when Chad was done. His dark eyelashes fluttered against his cheeks, hands trembling where they touched him. Intimacy was a language Chad spoke fluently. Uryu might be a little rusty. They could practice. He didn’t mind, especially when it appeared to loosen Uryu up so easily. 

“We’ve got each other's backs.” He swallowed, feeling like his heart was lodged in his throat. “This is where I want to be.” His strong arms encircled Uryu. There wasn’t much that could keep him away, when he wanted to be somewhere. He fought Hollows a hundred times his size in order to protect the people of Karakura Town and wandering spirits. That was nothing, compared to how much he wanted this, wanted Uryu.

He felt Uryu’s smirk as much as he heard it in his voice, their faces were so close. “That’s good. I’m afraid I’ve gotten rather comfortable.” 

He echoed, “That's good,” and kissed him softly. He kicked his shoes off and threw his legs onto the couch, bouncing Uryu around and smiling at his indignant noises. Uryu huffed, the amused, fond one, when he used one large hand to bring him down against Chad’s chest. With his free hand, he snagged the blanket thrown over the back of the old couch and draped it over them. 

Glasses askew, Uryu peered up at him, an arm thrown over Chad's broad chest and his chin propped on his elbow. He toed off his own shoes. The sound of them clunking against Chad’s and falling to the floor satisfied him in a way he wouldn’t have expected. Uryu’s soft look when Chad reached up to straighten his glasses for him was even better. His heart stuttered in his chest, speeding up like Uryu’s attention was adrenaline. 

Those deep blue eyes dropped down to his lips, and Chad felt Uryu’s heart rate match his own. He ghosted his fingers over Uryu's lips, his pink cheeks, through the curtain of his bangs. Uryu let his eyes fall shut and sighed in contentment. It was more than Chad had asked for, to reach for the sun and be embraced. With Uryu this close, he would hold on as tightly as possible. 


End file.
